POGIL in Computer Science for Beginners and Experts

Process-Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) is a form of student-centered, engaged learning. It is a research-based instructional strategy with a proven history across STEM disciplines. In a POGIL classroom, teams of students work on activities that are specifically designed to guide them to construct their own understanding of key concepts. At the same time, students develop process skills such as communication, teamwork, problem solving, and critical thinking. POGIL incorporates practices shown to be particularly helpful for students from underrepresented populations. In a POGIL classroom, teachers are facilitators, not lecturers. Multiple studies have shown that students in POGIL classes do better on common exams and in subsequent courses. For more information, see http://cspogil.org and http://pogil.org. This BOF will (1) enable people unfamiliar with POGIL to experience it first-hand, and (2) bring together experienced POGIL practitioners to share experiences, insights, ideas, and concerns. As in a POGIL classroom, we will discuss topics in small teams and report out to the larger group.